Alan Pardew has acknowledged that his future at Newcastle United is not assured and expects an "uncomfortable" conversation with Mike Ashley at the end of the season when they will discuss what Pardew terms the club's "collective" underachievement.

"My job is to manage this football club with dignity, with an honesty, which I've done, not just with the players but with the press and more importantly with our fans," said Newcastle's manager whose side need to win at QPR on Sunday to assuage relegation fears.

"Hopefully it'll be good enough to keep my job next year, it's a privilege and honour to be in this position. But that ultimate decision is not mine so we could get the points we need and Mike could decide he needs to move to another manager. I like to think that he won't, that next year we'll stay with myself but we need to make some changes and we'll talk about that at the end of the season. We know we've got to have an uncomfortable conversation regarding the form this year, the under-achievement."

While Pardew remains "confident enough" that he will survive, Ashley is understood to be sympathetic towards a man who led the team to fifth place last season before becoming the manager of the year and signing an eight-year contract. Even so, after an injury ravaged campaign exposed a lack of strength in depth in the squad, Pardew knows he needs to persuade the owner to correct imbalances provoked by a lack of investment last summer.

"When we sit down it will be uncomfortable for us both," said Pardew who evidently feels he did not receive adequate transfer-market support this time last year. "I've under-achieved as a manager but we've under-achieved as a club so we all take responsibility. We need to find out what the reasons were and then it's for Mike, hopefully with me, to decide how to go forward. We've got to be honest. It's about making sure that, when we go forward, we put some of the things right we put wrong this year."

A shortage of attacking options has, at times, hampered Newcastle this season and Pardew hinted that they could be interested in signing QPR's Loïc Rémy – the forward Harry Redknapp hijacked from beneath their noses at the 11th hour in January – once the window re-opens next month. "We've got to bring two strikers to this club in my opinion," said Pardew. "Therefore I'm not going to dismiss any striker I think has great quality, which Loïc Rémy has."

He also hopes to keep Fabricio Coloccini, whose recent return from injury has stabilised Newcastle's defence. Coloccini has had personal problems and was disappointed not to be allowed to return to Argentina in January.

"Colo's future is something we'll have to address, I haven't given up hope that he might stay," said Pardew. "When he plays for this club he's brilliant. I will fight for him to stay. But, ultimately, it will be Colo's decision."